Death Wish Read Online Free PDF

against her face. Ordinarily she drew the second glance of most men but now she looked old, hard, furious: as if she were nobody’s daughter.
    Possibly it was partly the result of the drugs. She had been under sedation for most of the first three days because whenever they stopped dosing her she would tighten up like a watchspring and if you touched her, her rigid body would jerk galvanically. Yesterday he had reached for her hand, trying to make contact; her hand was ice-cold and she had pulled it away, clamped her lips shut, averted her face. She hadn’t gone into total shock—she could converse quite rationally, in a voice that lacked its usual expressiveness—but Paul was worried about her. Jack had agreed she might need psychiatric looking-at if she didn’t pop out of it in another day or two. Perhaps after the funeral she would begin to loosen up.
    The casket was in the grave, the ropes had been withdrawn; the rabbi stopped talking and people began to drift away. A few came by to speak to Paul or to Carol; most of them—the ones who were discomfited by other people’s suffering—left quickly, trying to look as if they were not hurrying away.
    Henry Ives, the senior partner in the firm, stopped to say, “Of course you needn’t come back to work until you feel up to it. Is there anything we can do, Paul?”
    He shook his head and said his thank-yous and watched Ives hobble away toward his waiting Cadillac, a bald old man with age-spots in his skin. It had been kind of him to come; probably he disliked these reminders more than most did—he was at least seventy-three.
    Jack said, “We may as well go.”
    He stared down at the casket. “I guess so.”

    â€œAre you sure you wouldn’t rather stay over here for a few days?”
    â€œNo. You don’t really have room. It’d be crowded—we’d be on each other’s nerves,” Paul said.
    He sensed Jack’s relief. “Well, just the same. At least stay the evening. We’ll whip up something out of the freezer.”
    In this poor indoor light somehow the bruises under Carol’s makeup were more evident. She sat down on the couch, crossed her legs and leaned forward as though she had a severe pain in her stomach. “I’ll fix something in a little while.”
    â€œIt’s all right, darling, I’ll do it.”
    â€œNo.” She was snappish. “I’ll do it myself.”
    â€œAll right, fine. Just take it easy.” Jack sat down by her and put his arm around her shoulders. She didn’t stir.
    â€œMaybe we ought to call Doctor Rosen,” Paul suggested.
    It brought her eyes around against him. “I’m perfectly all right.” She shot to her feet and walked out of the room, moving heavily on her heels. Paul heard things crashing around in the kitchen.
    â€œAll right,” Jack muttered. “Let her get it out of her system.” He looked around. “I’m half surprised the place hasn’t been ransacked.”
    â€œWhat? Why?”
    â€œBurglars always read the obituaries. They know nobody’s going to be home at the time of the funeral.”
    â€œIn broad daylight?”
    â€œMost break-ins happen in daylight. That’s when people aren’t home. These guys that attacked Mom and Carol—that was in broad daylight.”
    Paul shed his black suit jacket and sat down in his shirtsleeves. “Does she have a better recollection of it yet? Does she remember what they looked like?”
    â€œI don’t know. She still doesn’t want to talk about it and I haven’t wanted to press her. She remembers it, of course—she’s not amnesiac. But she’s repressing it with everything she’s got. It’s only natural.”
    â€œYes. But the police need something to go on.”
    â€œI talked to Lieutenant Briggs this morning on the phone. We’re going to take her up there Monday